OVERVIEW

No professional can currently ignore an effective use of IT tools to support daily business. However, learning them to use without knowing the model they are based on makes it difficult to pass the elementary level and keep up to date with the continuous rapid updates of the tools.

This course aims to provide the basics of word processing and spreadsheets, distinguishing concepts from the demonstration of how they can be put into practice using a particular software system.

For this purpose, the concepts are presented disregarding, as far as possible, how they are implemented by specific applications and examples of use are used in different applications to allow comparison and facilitate abstraction.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Applications of spreadsheet with reference to economic and financial problems. Writing texts with editing software. Presentations with dedicated software

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Using the material made available to become familiar with the tools and tackle some simple exercises, at the end of the course, the student will be able to

• use a word processor to write well-structured documents that follow the main rules of effective communication
• use a spreadsheet to manage, enter and analyze data
• automate the calculation of economic and financial analysis formulas
• generate informative graphics
• design a compelling presentation
• use a presentation tool respecting the criteria of uniformity, sound design and accessibility in the final result

PREREQUISITES

Familiarity with computer use coud help, but it is not required.

TEACHING METHODS

The course will be delivered using online lessons and online exercises, self-assessment quizzes to help students focus the study. Those material and activities will be available at any time from the beginning of the semester and the students will be able to participate at any time. 

Moreover, there will be synchronous labs, in which the teacher will interact with the students to facilitate the overcoming of the main practical difficulties in applying independently of the techniques learned.

The course will be held remotely through the Aulaweb (https://2022.aulaweb.unige.it/course/view.php?id=987) platform.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is divided into four macro-topics: a first part with general content, a second dedicated to word processing systems, a third dedicated to spreadsheets, and a fourth dedicated to presentation programs. Each macro argument is in turn subdivided into arguments.

General part: applications and operating system, differences and interactions

Word processing: types of applications for word processing, basic concepts of word processing, character formatting and paragraphs; Tabs and alignment; lists and numbered lists; Formatting documents, margins, headers, and footers; tables; styles; templates; Inserting special content: images, figures, symbols and formulas

Spreadsheets: Introduction to Spreadsheets; Inserting and formatting values (numbers, currencies, percentages, and dates); Operations and functions on values, relative and absolute references in Microsoft Excel and their use in formulas; Association of names to values or ranges; Automatic generation, import and export of data; Generation and manipulation of graphics; Sorting, focusing and filters. Pivot

Presentation programs: presentation principles and techiniques; introduction to presentation programs; presentation structure; slide structure; animations

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

No textbook is required: the needed material will be freely available online.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MAURA CERIOLI (President)

MASSIMO ALBANESE

MARIA TRUVOLO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course is available online for self-paced learning. A few Q&A sessions will be organized in the weeks before the exams to help students in finalizing their prepration and solving their last doubts.

Class schedule

COMPUTER SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be a test consisting of multiple-choice questions delivered on a digital platform. The questions concern the basic concepts and, to a greater extent, the use of applications. To answer, the students will need to have acquired a reasonable practical mastery of the same.
The quiz will be in Italian, and no other examination methods are available for international students.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The test questions are of two different types:

• generic, or related to available functionalities and good practices of use of the applications
• operational, or that require the use of applications during the examination to create or modify documents and thus be able to answer specific questions on the final status of the document

The answers to the generic questions require less time and aim at verifying that the student has acquired sufficient knowledge of computer tools. Those for operational questions need more time, because they must carry out exercises to find the answers, and are intended to ascertain that the candidate knows how to use the applications in practice and did not limit their preparation to studying functionalities at a general level.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Communications concerning the course and examinations will mainly take place using AulaWeb or mail.

Students with learning difficulties, disabilities or other certificates of special educational needs are advised to contact both the referent Prof. Serena Scotto (serena.scotto@unige.it), and the teacher, at the beginning of the course, to agree on modalities of teaching and exams taking into account individual learning methods and providing for the appropriate compensatory tools. Further useful information can be found on the page of the Unige website which contains the relevant information: https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/studenti-disabilita-informazioni-utili